Bonjour
Very busy day today...legs bit sore to night. Started at the catacombs this morning. Old Quarries were selected to deposit Parisian bones, after the Cemetery of Innocent (close to Saint-Eustace, in the district of the "Halles") which had been used for nearly ten centuries, had become the origin of infection for all the people in the district. The catacombs are roughly 2 kms are of quarry tunnels under the city (used by the Resistance during the war) and now house the bones that were removed and carefully stacked there. It is quite macabre to see ‘walls’ of bones neatly stacked...in fact quite revolting when you stop and remember they are human bones (see the above photos).
Trained over to Quasimodo territory and entered the famous Cathedral of Notre Dame. Looked up hoping to see the famed bell ringer – am sure I did in my imagination. Didn’t do the walk up 400+ steps up to the gargoyles today - relied on the majesty of a telephoto lens to get up close. Walked through the Cathedral and appreciated the history and architecture.
Another short 2 km walk took us to the Pantheon. This is in the Latin Quarter and it was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but it is now a mausoleum containing the remains of famous French citizens including Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis Pasteur, Louis Braille.
Another 1 km walk, and by now the day was quite warm, We found the metro station and made our way to Montmarte and the Basilica du Sacre- Coeur. Feeling a little hot and and tired we skipped the 243 steps up and decided on the funicular (cable car)option to the top – much more civilised. As with all the churches and places of worship, the spectacular elements were there. Perched high up it has amazing views down over Paris.
Talking of amazing views, this brings us to the last stop of the day........THE EIFFEL TOWER. It has been looking great out our window 24/7. Up close again it is frigging huge. Nerves kicked in...would we or wouldn’t we? Bit the bullet and purchased tickets. I forced Rick up the tower against his free will; something for which I will be forever sorry. And for which I will pay a very significant price. But it was worth it to watch the sheer terror on his face and the tears roll from his closedd eyes has he screamed an ear piercing scream of death. Sorry, Rick hijacked the blog. Caught the elevator up to level 2. Felt quite sick in the stomach. Walked around level 2, took photos, looked up at how much further we had to go, looked down at how high we already were. Am sorry to say we couldn’t do it. It was the glass sides of the elevator that did it. But, sitting here writing this, I am look out at the Tower all lit up, goading me in my failure.
NB: Back on the Pinot Noir again. And... A very big thankyou to "Tom" (Tom - Tomasina in our case)- our personalised tourguide.
Au Revoir
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